Dundee Dam gate failure could have lasting severe environmental impact

By Abby Wilson

Dundee Park is a highly valued gathering space for Windham residents and the surrounding community. The park features sports courts, swings, a picnic area with outdoor grills, and a beach along the Presumpscot River.

The current low water level at Dundee Park
in Windham as a result of a contractor's
dam failure could have a significant 
environmental impact on the area for
year's to come. PHOTO BY
MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY  

This last attribute makes the park such a vital resource in the summer, but it is also the reason the park was closed last month.

In early June, the Dundee Dam which is a hydroelectric project on the southern end of Dundee Pond, experienced a gate malfunction resulting in extremely low water levels.

“‘I noticed that the river looked like there had been a three-day rain,’ said Mike Parker, a Windham resident downstream from Dundee Dam. “I went to find out where the mud was coming from.”

Parker discovered that the pond levels were very low and during this investigation, the owner of the dam appeared and explained that the dam had malfunctioned.

According to Parker, he was concerned because the park is a public access point to the river. He noticed that putting a boat into the water would be possible, but he said that it would be a nightmare because of the scramble from the water line.

“I visited the muddy exposure and walked it with a fisherman,” he said.

The fisherman told him that the fishing was good because there were many fish in not a lot of water and while on site, he caught a couple of small-mouth bass.

“There has been a change for the worse,” Parker said.

Michael Shaughnessy, the President of the Friends of the Presumpscot River, said the low water level now is troubling.

“It’s like somebody pulled the plug on a bathtub,” he said.

Shaughnessy confirmed that the dam owners went to make a scheduled repair on the upper gate, but the lower gate got stuck in the open position.

“All that sediment goes down and then shoots down the river,” he said.

The water and sediment drain through the gate and into the old rocky riverbed which is used as a trout spawning area.

“Any kind of spawning activity has been decimated by this,” said Shaughnessy.

There have been serious environmental effects but also economic impacts. Shaughnessy voiced his concerns about the resources that Dundee Park provides to the community.

“That’s where the town gives swimming lessons,” Shaughnessy said. He also commented that with a recent drowning in Westbrook, we are all thinking about the importance of learning how to swim.

“It’s important to have access to swimming lessons in a state that has as much water, and as much wild swimming possibilities as we have here. It’s more important than learning to ride a bicycle,” Shaughnessy said.

The community will feel the effects at Dundee Park with swimming closed this summer. but the surrounding ecosystem will suffer long-term.

“Biologically it’s set back for years,” Shaughnessy said.

He is advocating for the town to conduct an environmental study to determine the lasting and expansive impacts.

“You need to have upstream and downstream remediation,” said Shaughnessy.

This survey would also determine future costs of infrastructure or programs that are needed for the park, river, and pond to get back to full biological health.

“If they just focus on filling it up and think it will be just like it was and that won’t happen,” said Shaughnessy. “The major concern is the impact on the fisheries by virtue of the water level going down. Other wildlife will be impacted such as turtles, clams, and birds of prey. The biological life that was lake oriented has been destroyed. The silt is going down impacting the lower impoundment. It’s a lake and there’s lots of water over many acres, then it goes down and now it’s all dried mud. The things that can exist on the lake can’t exist in dried mud.”

The Windham Parks and Recreation Department website describes Dundee Park as “an attractive beach and picnic area with outdoor grills located in a picturesque and unspoiled site along the Presumpscot River.”

While the park reopened with a swimming ban on June 21, the future remains uncertain. Dundee Park may not currently be ‘picturesque and unspoiled’, but community support and environmental studies can help restore Windham’s favorite park. <